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The Robben Island Museum (RIM) has made headlines again this week rejecting reports that its ferry service is operationally inadequate saying “it is business as usual”.

RIM briefed the provincial standing committee on economic opportunities, tourism and agriculture regarding the incident relating to the tourist ferry, Thandi, which capsized last month.

Committee chairperson Beverley Schafer said the ferry service was “operationally inadequate” to transport passengers.

RIM chief executive Mava Dada said, “We are supporting the SA Maritime Authority with their investigation. Our own internal investigation is also underway to identify any possible blind spots.

“Tourists and guests to RIM are assured that it is business as usual.”

This weekend saw the 29th annual Blessing of the Fishing Fleet festival at the V&A Waterfront.

According to the press the festival is a cultural appreciation and fundraising event packed with all thing Portuguese.

Event co-ordinator, Alberto Goncalves, said, “The event is held to bless the boats and fishermen who go out to sea each year and has become somewhat of a social event. It is also held as a fundraising event for Portuguese welfare.”

According to the press SAWDN managed to free a 14 metre humpback whale entangled in rope over 40 nautical miles offshore of the Southern Cape coast.

Along with the National Sea Rescue Institute Plettenberg Bay (NSRI), the SAWDN arrived at the scene and found a juvenile whale anchored to the seabed with fishing rope around its tail. The animal was freed and all lines were recovered.

SAWDN spokesperson Craid Lambinon said, “The cutting operation took 20 minutes. We are confident that the operation has been successful and the whale appears to be healthy.

“This is the farthest out to sea that a SAWDN operation has been conducted.”

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With the Western Cape facing an ongoing water crisis, two major companies are looking at desalination options for the V&A Waterfront.

According to the press, Growthpoint Properties and PIC (the Public Investment Corporation), equal joint owners of the V&A Waterfront, are investigating the feasibility of establishing a desalination plant to mitigate the risk to their investment caused by Cape Town’s water shortage crisis.

“The city would probably be keen for us to do something like that. We haven’t quite worked out all the risks, all the pros and cons and have to go through the process.

“But certainly in terms of supplying our own needs, we are looking at it pretty seriously at the moment,” says Norbert Sasse, chief executive of Growthpoint.

Also making headlines this week is the announcement that South Africa will host the 10th summit of the Brics bloc in 2018, which groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Addressing the Brics Business Forum, President Jacob Zuma said that South Africa welcomed attendees of the forum to visit South Africa, saying that South Africa is a new frontline of growth and prosperity and that the country expected to realise inclusive economic development and further increase its trade with other Brics countries.

The Two Oceans Aquarium was involved in an unusual rescue operation this week. According to the press, aquarium staff rescued an ocean sunfish (Mola mola) from the Robertson Dry Dock next to the aquarium and released it back into the harbour at the V&A Waterfront.

The rescue operation involved several staff members from the Two Oceans Aquarium, and thanks to the help of Summit Crane Hire and H&I Construction, the team was able to airlift the sunfish out of the dry dock and back into the harbour.

The Coega Development Corporation has attracted 16 new investments to the value of R11.69 billion over the last financial year.

According to press, the corporation generated an income of R532,7 million for the 2016 –17 financial year.

Lionel Billings, Coega’s financial head said, “This is the first time in 17 years that Coega has generated a half a billion rand in income.”

During the year Coega spent R776 million on small, medium and micro enterprises. This has generated 16,500 jobs and 5,887 people have benefited from training and development opportunities.

Ayanda Vilakazi, head of marketing at Coega, says the corporation is most proud of the number of jobs they have generated since they were established in 2000, adding that the number of jobs generated now stands at 102,794.

The Indian naval ship, Tarkash, docked at Berth 2 of the V&A Waterfront this week. According to the press the vessel arrived from Walvis Bay, Namibia and is part of the Indian navy’s Western Fleet, known as the Sword Arm of the Indian navy. The vessel is usually based in Mumbai on the west coast of India.

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According to the press this week, residents of the Overberg region had the opportunity to voice their concerns regarding the ongoing perlemoen poaching and the effects that it seems to be having on increased gang violence, drug abuse and prostitution in the area at a committee meeting of the provincial committee of economic opportunity.

Anne Lubbe, head of human resources at Abagold, one of South Africa’s main perlemoen providers said, “Perlemoen is now about many more issues. It is an exit and income for many, but for others the consequences are worse than ever.

Everyone is jumping in the ocean for perlemoen. There is no control over perlemoen poaching. The poachers get the perlemoen, they receive no cash, they get drugs. These drugs have to be sold to make money. School children are used to sell the drugs.”

In response, Col. Jacques Visser of the Hawks in the Western Cape said, “We have successfully pursued 145 cases and arrested more than 400 people. These cases are now in the courts.”

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, DAFF, was not represented at the committee meeting.

In response to low freight and oil prices, Denmark’s Moller- Maersk will spilt itself and focus on transport and logistics, while simultaneously continuing to seek a way out of energy in a much anticipated revamp aimed at reviving its fortunes.

According to the press the conglomerate will focus on its core businesses: Maersk Line, APM Terminals, Damco, Svitzer and Maersk Container Industry, while also looking for solutions for its smaller energy operations.

The news was received cautiously by investors. “It might be one of the most pain-free solutions relative to other scenarios, but they could have gone even further,” said Nykredit analyst Ricky Rasmussen.

Work on the R1.3 billion mixed use development at the gateway to the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town has made headlines this week.

“The Yacht Club” is being developed by the Amdec Group and will comprise a hotel as well as modern urban apartment living in two towers on a podium of premium grade office space.

Nicholas Stopforth, managing director of Amdec, said, “The hotel will have a contemporary four-star grading.” He added that the apartments had proven particularly popular with investors, who had enthusiastically welcomed the massive potential they represented for long-term leases, and owner occupiers. About 20 percent of these buyers are based in Gauteng.